Digital Collections

Topic: Social Studies, Geography, History

Time frame: 2-4 days

Activity:

• This is an introduction about the Iroquois people in Canada. Keep that in mind.

[for teacher]

From Creation

The Haudenoshaunee (people of the longhouse) came from the southwest of North America and settled in the Finger Lakes region in what is now New York State, south of Lake Ontario. They settled in the following order from East to West: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca. That is why the Mohawks (Kanienkeha) are known as the Keepers of the Eastern Door, and the Seneca are known as Keepers of the Western Door: because they were on the outsides of their settlements, they were in charge of protection from other Nations of people.

• show the pictures if you can, blow them up or put them on an overhead

[for teacher]

It is said that at different times throughout history they occupied what is now known as Georgia, as one of their social dances is called the Alligator Dance. They also moved north to what is now known as southern Ontario, from Ottawa straight across to the Grand River (modern-day Six Nations) in the winters where they used the land as their beaver hunting grounds. After various wars between the British and the French, each settlement of the Haudenoshaunee found themselves moving farther apart from one another. After the American Revolution, most of the Onkwehon:we (Iroquois) moved into what is now known as Canada.

Iroquoian language family area

-show this map or another map of Canada and point out the area where the Haudenoshaunee/ Iroquois have settled. There are seven Haudenoshaunee (Iroquois) communities in Ontario and Quebec. Kahnawake is just south of Montreal near Lachine, while Kanesatake is just north west of Montreal. Akwesasne sits on the borders of Ontario, Quebec and New York State. Wahta is north of Barrie and south of Parry Sound in Ontario, while Oneida sits in south western Ontario.

[for teacher]

Two groups of people were granted land by Haldimand and Simcoe of the British government/army: Captain Joseph Brant led many people of the five Nations to what is now known as Six Nations near Brantford, while Captain John Deseronto led twenty families to what is now known as Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ontario. Both men were Mohawk.

-for a more detailed history of Six Nations see this section of the Pauline Johnson site:

www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/%7Epjohnson/six.html

There are also many Haudenoshaunee south of the border in present-day New York state. Onondaga is south of Syracuse, Senecas are east of Rochester, and the Mohawks of Akwesasne also hold land and live in the area of upstate New York.

• use this map in its "zoomed-in" form. Use it as a geography lesson. Ask the students to point out where they live. Ask them to draw a picture of where they live and the nearest Iroquois community to them. They can be very creative about it - you can use a huge map of Canada or Ontario/Quebec on the wall and have students attach their pictures to the appropriate spot on the map. This is social studies and geography. Talk about it though, first, before giving instructions. Discuss the languages of the Iroquois - each of the six nations has its own language, named the same as the nation. For example, Mohawks (Kanienkeha) speak Mohawk, Senecas speak Seneca, etc.

[for teacher]

The Confederacy

There are five nations who founded the Confederacy Council which was formed by the message of the Peacemaker. The Mohawk are keepers of the Eastern Door and the Seneca are keepers of the Western Door. They are responsible for protection of the other Nations in the middle: Onondaga is the keeper of the Confederacy fire in the middle, while the Oneida and Cayugas sit on either side of the fire.

The Great Tree of Peace is the symbol of the Iroquois (Haudenoshaunee) Confederacy. The weapons of war were buried underneath it and four white roots extend out in each direction to welcome all Native people to join the Confederacy. If they respect and believe in it, anyone can follow the roots to the source of the tree and take shelter under its branches. An eagle is forever perched on the top of the tree to warn us of any danger.

[for teacher]

• You may choose to research the Confederacy at greater length; however, this would be an excellent subject to bring a Haudenoshaunee/Iroquois person in to explain (especially if you adapt this lesson to a higher grade, much work can be done on this subject).
• Teacher, go into the site, Stones Unturned at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. www.schoolnet.ca/collections/stones/groups/iroqi.htm If you are doing this unit with young students, use a computer to show a group of 2-5 individuals. If they are in junior grades you may choose to work with 5-10 students, or 2-3 students per computer. With older grades it would be better to have a computer for each student. Click on Native Groups. This section gives a brief overview of seventeen different Nations of Native peoples in Canada: choose number ten, the Iroquois. Click on Iroquois. It will show you a map of the area of settlement of Iroquois people in southern Ontario-Quebec and northern New York State. Go over this with the class.
• Have students take a blank map and try to draw in the area of Iroquois inhabitancy as indicated in the site (to be done later). Depending on skill level, they can label, colour and prepare a legend for the map.
• For advanced users, they can go to Clothes and to Toys, two of the other sections in this site, and search for Iroquois clothing and toys, a few of which exist on the site. The site gives a brief overview - it does not examine in depth any f the Nations mentioned.